You have in your hands the accumulation of decades of top-level practice of the double-edged Gruenfeld Defense. World renowned Grandmaster Leonid Shamkovich has created an easy to follow treatise on this timeless and sharp defense.

The Gruenfeld, found during the hypermodern era in the early 20th century, offers a balanced counterattacking weapon to the solid Queen's Gambit. Black combines temporary occupation of the centre with the fianchetto of the King's Bishop to create tense middle game positions, which, with the slightest misstep by White can turn the advantage quickly. Many World Champions (Botvinnik, Smyslov, Fischer, Spaasky, Kasparov) as well as current powerhouses such as Ivanchuk, Anand, Kamsky, Korchnoi, and Sokolov have successfully employed the Gruenfeld in important encounters.

This book clearly lays out the main lines with plenty of attention given to novelties and likely side paths. A completer chapter is dedicated to the Modern Exchange variation and essential stratagems are revealed.

What to play against 1.d4? The Gruenfeld Defense provides a solid answer for the tournament player, with generous analysis of all critical lines, over 140 diagrams and a complex index.